WWRL Hosts Blog

No Shame

by Randi Rhodesposted Jun 25 2013 5:09PM

Today the Supreme Court struck the heart out of the Voting Rights Act. The only voting right that this Supreme Court recognizes it the right of big corporations to vote with their money. The Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act that singles out certain areas that have a history of discrimination. Getting rid of Section 4 is like denying that history. Yes, they passed a law against voter discrimination and concentrated on areas where that happened. Hello! If you pass a law against speeding, you should probably concentrate enforcement on the areas with roads. The history of racial discrimination in the South was one of the main reasons that we needed the Voting Rights Act. Singling out the areas where the problems were the worst was common sense. Today the Supreme Court ruled that common sense no longer applies.

The Court said that Congress can impose new oversight on areas that are at risk, based on new data. But John Roberts knows full well that Congress can’t do anything. Congress is frozen by extremist members from totally gerrymandered districts. Today’s Congress is not the solution to voter discrimination—today’s Congress is the result of voter discrimination. There are still provisions in the Voting Rights Act that can be used to safeguard voting rights. Conservatives are taking away voting rights the same way they’re taking away reproductive rights—gradually. This is not the end of voting rights, but if we don’t fight back, it’s the beginning of the end.

How is Edward Snowden travelling without a passport? You don’t need a passport if you’re carrying four computers full of US intelligence secrets. The secrets on those computers will open more borders than any passport ever issued. But they’re especially helpful when your travel is through nations in competition with us like Russia and China. You know how you have to show your passport when you land? Ed Snowden has to show the contents of those computers. The problem is that that takes a lot longer. They need to make copies, after all. The only good part of the Snowden itinerary is that his supposed last stop can’t do a lot of harm with the information. When people talk about secrets falling into the wrong hands, they aren’t usually thinking of Ecuador.

Meanwhile in Texas, Republican lawmakers are trying to force through a bill that would virtually outlaw abortion in Texas. Why is all of this stuff taking place in the middle of a sweltering June? Isn’t a little hot for things to get this heated?

Texas Representative Jodie Laubenberg made a statement about rape kits that would have made Todd Akin gasp at its stupidity. Laubenberg said that no abortion ban exception for rape was necessary because “In the emergency room they have what’s called rape kits where a woman can get cleaned out.” It’s a variation on Todd Akin! Todd thought that a woman’s body has a way to “shut that whole thing down.” Jodie Laubenberg thinks that hospitals have a magic kit that does the same thing.